Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all living matter on Earth while building more of themselves (a scenario known as ecophagy; eating the environment). The end of civilization or the end of the world are phrases used in reference to human extinction scenarios, doomsday events, and related hazards which occur on a global scale. ... Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is the concept of engineering functional mechanical systems at the molecular scale. ... Self-replication is the process by which a thing may act, and thereby make a copy of itself. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... A term coined by Robert Freitas, that means, literally, the consuming of an ecosystem. ...

The term "grey goo" is usually used in a science fiction or popular-press context. In the worst postulated scenarios (requiring large, space-capable machines), matter beyond Earth would also be turned into goo (with "goo" meaning a large mass of replicating nanomachines lacking large-scale structure, which may or may not actually appear goo-like). The disaster is posited to result from a deliberate doomsday device, or from an accidental mutation in a self-replicating nanomachine used for other purposes, but designed to operate in a natural environment. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This article is about the theoretical world-ending destruction. ... For linguistic mutation, see Apophony. ...

Living goo

One convenient analogy for the grey goo problem is to consider bacteria as the most perfect example of biological nanotechnology. As they have not reduced the world to living goo, some consider it unlikely that some artificial construct will manage to do so with grey goo.

Even so, some people argue that living goo, or even a combination of nanotechnology and biotechnology to create organic replicators, is a more realistic threat than grey goo. Arguing that bacteria are ubiquitous and extraordinarily powerful, Bill Bryson (2003) says that the Earth is "their planet" and that we only exist on it because "they allow us to". Margulis and Sagan (1995) go further, arguing that all organisms, having descended from bacteria, are in a sense bacteria. Many kinds of bacteria are in fact essential for human life and are found in large quantities in the human digestive tract, in a symbiotic relationship. Nanotechnology refers to a field of applied science and technology whose theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, generally 100 nanometers or smaller, and the fabrication of devices that lie within that size range. ... Insulin crystals Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... The Replicators are a fictional mechanical race on the television series Stargate SG-1. ... William McGuire Bill Bryson, OBE, (born December 8, 1951 in Des Moines, Iowa) is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on scientific subjects. ... Common Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) in their magnificent sea anemone (Heteractis magnifica) home. ...

Thus a living goo could be a multicellular organism that obtains its raw materials to grow through ecophagy, and then grows through a process of exponential assembly such as cell division.^{[original research?]} Wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite stained to highlight the nuclei of all cells Multicellular organisms are organisms consisting of more than one cell, and having differentiated cells that perform specialized functions. ... A term coined by Robert Freitas, that means, literally, the consuming of an ecosystem. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Risks and precautions

It is unclear whether the molecular nanotechnology would be capable of creating grey goo at all. Among other common refutations, theorists suggest that the very size of nanoparticles inhibits them from moving very quickly. While the biological matter that composes life releases significant amounts of energy when oxidised, and other sources of energy such as sunlight are available, this energy might not be sufficient for the putative nanorobots to out-compete existing organic life that already uses those resources, especially considering how much energy nanorobots would use for locomotion. If the nanomachine was itself composed of organic molecules, then it might even find itself being preyed upon by preexisting bacteria and other natural life forms. Very Basic Description A nanoparticle is a microscopic particle whose size is measured in nanometers. ... This article is about life in general. ... An organic compound is any of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon, with exception of carbides, carbonates and carbon oxides. ...

If self-replicating machines were built of inorganic compounds or made much use of elements that are not generally found in living matter, then they would need to use much of their metabolic output for fighting entropy as they purified (reduce sand to silicon, for instance) and synthesized the necessary building blocks. There would be little chemical energy available from inorganic matter such as rocks because, aside from a few exceptions it is mostly well-oxidized and sitting in a free-energy minimum. Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and reactions of inorganic compounds. ... For other uses, see: information entropy (in information theory) and entropy (disambiguation). ... The thermodynamic free energy is a measure of the amount of mechanical (or other) work that can be extracted from a system, and is helpful in engineering applications. ...

Assuming a molecular nanotechnological replicator were capable of causing a grey goo disaster, safety precautions might include programming them to stop reproducing after a certain number of generations (see cancer), designing them to require a rare material that would be sprayed on the construction site before their release, or requiring constant direct control from an external computer. Another possibility is to encrypt the memory of the replicators in such a way that any changed copy would decrypt to a meaningless, random bit string. In a generic sense, a replicator can be anything capable of self-replication. ... // Traditionally, a generation has been defined as “the average interval of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ... In telecommunication, the term decrypt has the following meanings: 1. ...

Drexler more recently conceded that there is no need to build anything that even resembles a potential runaway replicator. This would avoid the problem entirely. In a paper in the journal Nanotechnology, he argues that self-replicating machines are needlessly complex and inefficient. His 1992 technical book on advanced nanotechnologies Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation [1] describes manufacturing systems that are desktop-scale factories with specialized machines in fixed locations and conveyor belts to move parts from place to place. Popular culture, however, remains focused on imagined scenarios derived from his older ideas. Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955 in Oakland, California) is an American engineer best known for popularizing the potential of molecular nanotechnology (MNT), from the 1970s and 1980s. ...

Oxford based philosopher Nick Bostrom discusses the idea of a future powerful superintelligence, and the risks that we/it face should it attempt to gain atomic level control of matter. Nick Bostrom at a 2006 summit at Stanford University. ... Human, Artificial Intelligence, Superintelligence and Hyperintelligence scale - yr 2008 ‘Super’ derived from the French and ultimately Latin ‘Supra’ is a descriptive combining form meaning: 1) above, over, beyond - superstructure. ...

In Britain, the Prince of Wales called upon the Royal Society to investigate the "enormous environmental and social risks" of nanotechnology in a planned report, leading to much delighted media commentary on grey goo. The Royal Society's report on nanoscience was released on 29 July 2004, and dismisses the idea as impossible. “Prince Charles” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Royal Society (disambiguation). ... is the 210th day of the year (211th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

More recent analysis has shown that the danger of grey goo is far less likely than originally thought.^[1] However, other long-term major risks to society and the environment from nanotechnology have been identified.^[2] Drexler has made a somewhat public effort to retract his grey goo hypothesis, in an effort to focus the debate on more realistic threats associated with knowledge-enabled nanoterrorism and other misuses. A computer-generated design of a nanobot by Antonio Siber. ...

Famous quotes

• "We cannot afford certain types of accidents", Eric Drexler, Engines of creation, 1986
• "I wish I had never used the term 'grey goo'", Eric Drexler, Nature 10 June 2004

Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology Engines of Creation (ISBN 0-385-19973-2) is a seminal molecular nanotechnology book written by K. Eric Drexler in 1986. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. ... is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Grey goo in science fiction

• In Ray Kurzweil's film The Singularity Is Near, a computer avatar called Ramona discovers that some nanorobots could destroy the world if not stopped.
• In Wil McCarthy's sci-fi novel Bloom, Earth’s ecosystem is destroyed within hours by a grey goo, annihilating all biological life. The grey goo then develops its own unique “ecosystem”. The only human survivors are colonists who flee to the outer solar system. The book's protagonists come from Jupiter’s moon Ganymede.^[3]
• Although not strictly speaking science fiction, Jasper Fforde's Lost in a Good Book features a narrowly-averted apocalypse in which all biological life in the world is converted into "Dream Topping" (a whipped cream-like substance) by overenthusiastic nanomachines.
• In the intro to the video game Deus Ex: Invisible War, a villain uses a nanite detonator, wiping out the entire city of Chicago with a goo-like substance that seems to freeze/destabilize anything it comes into contact with.
• Self-reproducing nanorobots were heavily featured in Michael Crichton's novel Prey.
• In Greg Bear's novel Blood Music, simple biological computers evolve to become self-aware 'noocytes', which assimilate most of the biosphere of North America before abandoning the normal plane of existence.
• In Universe at War: Earth Assault, Novus uses a megaweapon called the grey mass launcher, which turns a territory in global mode into a "grey mass".
• In the Stargate Atlantis season 4 episode "Be All My Sins Remember'd", Dr. Rodney McKay reprograms Ancient Replicator nanites to destroy the Replicator homeworld by attracting all the Replicator cells on and orbiting the planet into a single mass, which sinks to the center of the planet and implodes, destroying the planet in the process.
• Smoke's ending in Mortal Kombat Armageddon describes grey goo consuming the realm of Edenia.
• In Walter Jon Williams' novel Aristoi, Earth was destroyed by gray goo (codenamed "Mataglap") and it is used to destroy an asteroid installation owned by the protagonist.
• In the made-for-TV film Path of Destruction, accidentally released grey goo causes weather problems.
• In John Robert Marlow's novel Nano, the invention of self-replicating nanites results in a team of assassins hired by the government on the hunt for a scientist and reporter, nearly ending in the destruction of San Francisco by "incorrectly programmed" grey goo.
• In Gargoyles episode Walkabout, a sentient nanite swarm called "The Matrix" is confronted in the Australian outback.
• In the book Specials by Scott Westerfeld the characters Tally Youngblood and Shay use grey goo to break out of the armory in New Pretty Town.

Dr. Raymond Kurzweil (born February 12, 1948) is a pioneer in the fields of optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic musical keyboards. ... Cover of the book The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (Viking Penguin, ISBN 0-670-03384-7) is a 2005 update of Raymond Kurzweils 1999 book, The Age of Spiritual Machines and his 1987 book The Age of Intelligent Machines. ... Wil McCarthy (born September 16, 1966, Princeton, New Jersey) is a science fiction novelist, Chief Technology Officer for Galileo Shipyards (an aerospace research corporation), and the science columnist for the Sci Fi Channel (United States) (example below). ... Bloom, written in 1998, is the fifth science fiction novel written by Wil McCarthy. ... This article is about life in general. ... This article is about modern humans. ... For other uses, see Jupiter (disambiguation). ... This article is about Earths moon. ... This article is about the natural satellite of Jupiter. ... Jasper Fforde (born in London on 11 January 1961) is an English novelist. ... Lost in a Good Book is the second book by Jasper Fforde and the sequel to the adventures of literary detective Thursday Next in The Eyre Affair. ... A mite next to a gear chain produced using nanotechnology Nanotechnology comprises any technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0. ... Deux Ex: Invisible War is a computer game. ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... Prey is a techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton first published in hardback edition in November 2002 and as a paperback edition in November 2003 by Harper Collins. ... Gregory Dale Bear (born August 20, 1951) is a science fiction author. ... Blood Music is a science fiction novel by Greg Bear (ISBN 0-7434-4496-5). ... Stargate Atlantis (often abbreviated as SGA) is an American-Canadian science fiction television program, part of the Stargate franchise owned by MGM. Developed by longtime SG-1 producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, it is a spin-off from the television series Stargate SG-1. ... Smoke is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is the title for the next game in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Walter Jon Williams (born 15 October 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. ... Aristoi is a 1993 science-fiction novel by Walter Jon Williams. ... Path of Destruction is a 2005 made-for-TV film on the Sci Fi Channel about a nanotechnology experiment gone awry. ... Gargoyles is an American fantasy superhero animated series created by Greg Weisman. ... Specials album cover The Specials were a British band formed in 1977 in Coventry (see 1977 in music). ... Scott Westerfeld (born May 5, 1963) is a New York Times bestselling author of science fiction and young adult literature. ... Shay may refer to: People named: Shay Haley, better known as Shay, a member of funk-rock band N*E*R*D Dorothy Shay, was a popular comedic recording artist Ephraim Shay, designed the first Shay locomotive and patented the type Gene Shay, a representative of Philadelphias folk music...

See also

• Clanking replicator (often called von Neumann machine)
• Culture shock
• Ice-9
• Midas touch
• Precautionary principle
• Technology assessment
• Von Neumann Probe

A clanking replicator is an artificial self-replicating system that relies on conventional large-scale technology and automation. ... For other persons named John Neumann, see John Neumann (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ice-9 is a fictional material conceived by science fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut in his novel Cats Cradle. ... For other uses, see Midas (disambiguation). ... The precautionary principle is a moral and political principle which states that if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the... Technology assessment (TA, German Technikfolgenabschätzung) is the study and evaluation of new technologies. ... A von Neumann probe is a specific example of a hypothetical concept based on the work of Hungarian-born American mathematician and physicist John von Neumann. ...

References

For information on Wikipedia press releases, see Wikipedia:Press releases. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

Prey, Micheal Crichton Lynn Margulis Dr. Lynn Margulis (born March 15, 1938) is a biologist and University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. ... Son of Carl Sagan and Lynn Margulis. ... A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson A Short History of Nearly Everything (ISBN 0-7679-0817-1) is a general science book by Bill Bryson, which explains some areas of science in ordinary language. ...

External links

• Some Limits to Global Ecophagy by Biovorous Nanoreplicators, with Public Policy Recommendations
• Nanotechnology pioneer slays “grey goo” myths Paper critical of "grey goo"
• Online edition of the Royal Society's report Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties
• Goo and Paste Directory
• UK Government & Royal Society commission on Nanotechnology and Nanoscience